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kona1611 · Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:29 pm

I've been pricing parts and a new system since well before Conroe appeared and had decided on a nice AMD system, but then I shifted gears again and back to Intel... Here is what I've decided on [Don't laugh too hard, this is my first new build since 1999...P2-400...she's gotten a tad slow for my comfort

]:

Gigabyte 3D Aurora Case (Black, not exactly sure which one)
Intel Conroe E6600
Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU CF/HS
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste
Arctic Silver AC-60ML (Thermal remover/purifier) (?is this necessary?)
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 mobo
eVGA N573 7900GTO 512MB vid
Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (TWIN2X2048-6400C4) mem
Seasonic-S12 EnergyPlus SS-550HT PSU
WD Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200RPM SATA (?sumthin better for a single drive system?)
Samsung 204B-BK Black 20.1 LCD
Probably an LG or Benq DVD-burner. Will probably flip a coin on that day I buy.
Sony DVD-ROM drive DDU1615/B2s
Logitech G5 Laser USB Mouse
Saitek PZ30AU USB Wired Std. Eclipse Keyboard
Various blue reactive cabling
Will run sound off the mobo til I figure out the soundcard (?any recommendations?)

Tipping the scale at about $1900 on newegg

What say ye? I plan to overclock. Thanks.

Nullvoid · Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:35 pm

Most people suggest just using isopropyl alcohol to get old thermal paste off, but I guess having the arctic branded stuff wouldn't hurt.

Is there any particular reasoning behind your choice of the zalman 7700? I only ask because it is one of their older generation models.

As to the rest of your build, well it looks damn fine to me! As far as soundcards go, maybe this version of the creative x-fi would serve you well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6829102007

king_kilr · Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:39 pm

Solid build, only thing's are go with a Seagate 320GB over the WD. And maybe don't get the GTO just so you qualify for the eVga step up program for DX10.

kona1611 · Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:46 pm

Well I had originally had set on a Zalman CNPS9500 Blue LED [apparently the 9700's are about to come out/already have..but newegg doesn't list them yet], but after reading countless reviews, I was concerned about how heavy it was and possibility of putting undue stress on the mobo.

Also, the flat panel is very optional, as I thoroughly am enjoying my Samsung 997DF CRT that I picked up back last winter. Very nice.

Fighterpilot · Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:56 pm

Id get the G7 mouse...wireless is freedom

The Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS is a great sound card at its current low price.....a good buy.
The rest looks good...should be a nice system.

Nullvoid · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:07 pm

I wouldn't worry about the weight being an issue. Motherboards can take more stress than you might imagine.

Just as a possible alternative I'd like to recommend this heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835109129

Paired with this fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835220014

It's not exactly a cheap combination, but it should be a far better performer than either of the zalman's you were looking at. And with the backpanel you can easily adjust the fan for whatever combination of noise/performance that you're comfortable with.

king_kilr · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:11 pm

I don't reccomend teh 2 ZS, I have one myself and it works well, however it really is last gen hardware at this point, as long as you are investing in a ound card go for a nice new one like the Xtreme Music.

chasscF1 · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:23 pm

And from my understanding the GTO doesn't qualify for the step up program.

king_kilr · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:24 pm

It doesn't, which is why I reccomend switching to a different graphics card as DX10 will be out in less then a month and there is no reason to pay 250 for something that will be obsolete soon when you could buy a GS for 200 and step up in a month.

kona1611 · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:47 pm

Where do you see/read that that the 7900 GTO is not in the eVGA step-up plan? The main page for the board says it is up at the top of the page.

http://www.evga.com/articles/327.asp

Charles

king_kilr · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:48 pm

I'll be damned, I called eVga a week ago to ask and they said no, perhaps they changed it due to demand. Either way I would call to be sure.

NeXus 6 · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:53 pm

I just checked and there is no 7900 GTO listed. The highest I can step up to is a 7900 GTX.

king_kilr · Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:01 pm

Its not an issue of what he can step up to, its whether he cans step up from it.

NeXus 6 · Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:14 pm

king_kilr wrote:
Its not an issue of what he can step up to, its whether he cans step up from it.

My bad.

I would imagine you will be able to step up to an 8800 GTS/GTX when they become available.

kona1611 · Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:31 pm

I am almost there on the build, but as this is the first build I have ever had a SATA drive.. i am wondering what cables I need to connect the unit to the mobo/PSU...

Looking at the back of the Seagate drive I am getting:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6822148140

You have the SATA connection and the power connection. And so then only one connection on the other end to the mobo or is there also a connection straight to the PSU? Could someone give me a link to what cable(s) I am needing. I am wanting to use Blue UV round cables if possible such as:

Thermaltake: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6812106002

Then I have seen a double cable beast such as:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6812123106

Is that normal 4-pin power connector coming off the cable just so you have another power connection..or is that something needed to connect the HD up properly? (sorry for being so newbie).

Help

Charles

Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:31 pm

The Seasonic PSU that you have selected should have at least 2x SATA drive power plug. As for control/signal, your motherboard should come with at least one SATA cable for that.

I am not entirely sure if the SI-128 will beat the CNPS9500. The Ultra120 may. And the CNPS9500 is the lightest of the bunch IIRC.

king_kilr · Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:32 pm

The only thing you really need to know for SATA drives is that you may need a driver for the XP install.

rika13 · Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:57 pm

i went am2 and micro atx for my idea, uatx gets that important wife approval factor (and fits on a desk better)

abit nf-m2 nView
athlon 64 x2 4200 65w
geil 2GiB dual channel kit
apevia/aspire x-qpack
antec neoHE 500w
aerocool 12025 (the fan and the psu that come with the case SUCK)
seagate 'cuda 7200.10 320GB
samsing 215tw (best 1680x1050 monitor around)
leadtek winfast 7950gt 512MB (hdcp, and the best nvidia card around)
samsung sh-s182m (18x dvd burner, dvd-ram and lightscribe)
creative x-fi platinum (sound card monopoly and its the one with the drive bay bus)
razer copperhead (best mouse around, pwnzors logitech)
microsoft curve 2000 (cheap, and not the harsh split that the natural has)
windows mce 2005 sp2b oem (xp pro on the cheap)

$2025 shipped, ready to go complete with os, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

mafropetee · Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:49 pm

i would definately go with a seagate barracuda 7200.10 perpendicular drive. they perform like raptors at a very nice cost. for the sound card, i would go with the creative x-fi xtreme audio. its cheap yet it gives incredible sound. if you really want an i/o board, then you can purchase one from somebody else without getting the x-fi platinum or fatal1ty. ohh and i would go with the lg burner. but thats just me. i dont really have any experience with benq.

kona1611 · Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:05 pm

Over the process of today I have ordered everything for my new build (finally time to say goodbye to my old friend..my P2-400, 384MB, Geforce2 MX...6 years later.

I opted for no sound card (will use the mobo sound for now), keeping my old USB Logitech mouse and USB/PS2 Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro and my Samsung 997DF 19" CRT (very nice).

Everything came from Newegg except the 7900 GTO (always going out of stock) and the CNSP9500 Fan/HS went back to full price of $63.99 on newegg. ~$50 on zipzoomfly.

Case: Gigabyte GZ-FA1CA-ASB 3D Aurora - $139.99
Mobo: Gigagyte GA-965P-DS3 - $142.99
CPU: Intel Conroe E6600 - $315.00
FanHS: Zalman CNSP7900 LED CPU Cooler - $49.99
Paste: Arctic Silver 5 - $5.99
PasteCleanup: Arctic Clean ACN-60ML - $5.99
Video: eVGA GeForce 7900GTO - $259.99
RAM: Corsair 2GB (2x1GB) TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - $279.00
PSU: SeaSonic SS-550HT (new S12 Energy Plus) 550W - $129.99
HD: 2x 320GB Seagate SATA ST3320620AS 7200.10 - 2 x $94.99
Burners: 2x Samsung SH-S182D RAM BK - 2x $30.99
IDE Cable: Thermaltake, Blue, 24", 3-Connector - $4.59
FD 1.44MB: Samsung, Black OEM - $6.99
FD Cable: Thermaltake, Blue, UV, 18", 2-Connector - $3.99

Subtotal: $1596.46
Shipping: $41.03 + $1.99 + $1.99
Total: $1641.47

Will be/planning on putting the 2 HD's into a RAID 1 config. I first was just going to get a burner + reader but opted for 2 burners as they are about the same price anyway. Any disadvantages/problems with having 2 burners? I guess I theoretically could be burning 2 roms at the same time, eh.

Thanks for everyone's input. Any further comments welcome.

kona1611 · Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:02 pm

Naturally the fanHS should have been:

Zalman CNSP9500 LED CPU Cooler

for the description.

Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:18 pm

You bought 2 burners?

kona1611 · Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:05 pm

Well burners are bout as cheap is just DVD_ROM drives.. is there any danger in having 2 burners? So I just decided to go ahead and get 2.

Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:06 pm

kona1611 wrote:
Well burners are bout as cheap is just DVD_ROM drives.. is there any danger in having 2 burners? So I just decided to go ahead and get 2.

Nothing wrong, just wondering. Keep in mind they will be on the same single IDE channel.

VaTech Hokie · Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:13 am

Not necessarily I thought mobos had two?

Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:20 am

VaTech Hokie wrote:
Not necessarily I thought mobos had two?

The new P965 chipset has done away with PATA altogether and on the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 the lone PATA channel (2 devices) is implemented by an additional chip. All 965-based boards will be under that arrangement.

kona1611 · Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:25 pm

So there is a single IDE connector on the mobo? So what might be an issue running two burners or burner/rom combo on the same IDE? Maybe be good to invest in an IDE card to go along with it?

Thanks

Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:53 pm

These days with buffer underrun protection it has become moot. Also since you will be using SATA hard drives any possible slowdown from hanging multiple devices on the same IDE channel is no more. How often you do disk-to-disk on-the-fly copying? I wouldn't even trust that even I have 2 writers on separate PATA channels. I always do it slowly and properly to the hard disk first.

kona1611 · Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:08 pm

Is your basic question: Why not just have one burner drive (and not a second CD drive of any kind)? I dunno, even in my old system I have a DVD-ROM and then (now) a DVD-R/RW drive. I make backups of my bought CD's/PhotoCDs/MP3cds from time to time.

So again since I have always run a 2-CDdrive system, and since a burner is about the same prices as a plaid DVD-ROM.. might as well get another burner.

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7900GTP Not in Step-Up Plan???

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